News, Grants, Competition, Rural, Telephony, Global: The Grameen Foundation is well known for pioneering telephone networks in rural surroundings. Its latest scene will allow two organisations to spend US$10,000 on building up village phone systems.

The Grameen Foundation has launched its inaugural Village Phone Grant Competition which is set to provide two organisations with US$10,000 each to launch Village Phone programmes. The competition is open to microfinance institutions and other non-profit organisations and is being run through Grameen Foundation’s Village Phone Assistance Centre website. In addition to the US$10,000 grant, the recipients will also receive technical assistance from the Grameen Foundation Village Phone team and support in developing programme materials.

“Seed financing is often a large obstacle for organisations who wish to start their own Village Phone programme,” said Peter Bladin, Senior Vice-President and Executive Director of Grameen Foundation’s Technology Centre; “With that in mind, we created this grant competition for organizations committed to implementing Village Phone as it is an important, proven method for increasing telecommunications services in poor communities.”

Launched in 2007, the Village Phone Assistance Center guides MFIs and other organisations in developing Village Phone products that provide poor communities around the world with affordable and reliable phone access and cell phone business opportunities. One critical resource is the Village Phone Direct Manual, first published in 2007 in collaboration with the ITU. The English-language version has been downloaded more than 1,400 times, and it is now available in four additional languages: Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish. Along with the newly translated versions of the manual, the Village Phone Assistance Centre website has been re-designed to include a blog for the Village Phone community and vital information on upcoming Village Phone Trainings. The next Village Phone Trainings will be offered in English and French in Kigali, Rwanda. The English language training will be held September 29 - October 3, 2008 and the French language training will take place October 6-9, 2008.

To participate in the competition, organisations should submit their proposals via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  by August 24, 2008. Those selected to move on to the next round must submit their final applications by September 30. The competition guidelines are available on the Assistance Centre website.

* Grameen Foundation’s Village Phone initiatives build on the pioneering work of Grameen Telecom in Bangladesh. Since 2003, Grameen Foundation has launched Village Phone programmes in Uganda and Rwanda and assisted with programs in Cambodia, Haiti and the Philippines. Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organisation that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of partners in 28 countries that has impacted an estimated 34 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. Based in Washington, DC, Grameen Foundation was founded by Alex Counts, who began his work in microfinance with 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank. Dr Yunus is a founding and current member of Grameen Foundation’s board of directors.

More info:

• http://www.grameenfoundation.org/
• http://www.villagephonedirect.org/